Sunday Herald, The: How do they do it? Stunts that have caused a sensation; 10; 10 of the

The Statue of Liberty vanishes In 1983, before marriages to supermodels and a decent haircut, a young David Copperfield made the New York's Statue of Liberty disappear on prime-time TV and in front of a live audience of 750.

Indian rope trick An old Indian trick. An Indian fakir throws a rope to the sky where it hangs unsupported. A young boy scampers to the top and disappears. The fakir sets off in pursuit with a knife and also vanishes. Then, suddenly, body parts fall from thin air. The fakir climbs down, gathers the limbs, places them in a basket, covers it and - hey presto - out pops the boy.

Sawing a woman in half This magical misogyny was invented by Englishman PT Selbit in 1921. Chainsaws, guillotines, buzzsaws and lasers have provided variation, but the girl always gets the chop. Later David Copperfield struck a blow for equality and sawed himself in half, separating his torso from his legs. To this day no-one has figured out how he did it.

Double bullet catch Weirdo duo Penn and Teller decided to turn guns on each other in 1996, but only out of professional courtesy. Armed with a .357 calibre handgun each they fired simultaneously at each other through sheet glass, catching their partner's bullet in their mouths.

Zig-zag girl Why saw a woman in half when you can cut her in three? Robert Harbin asked himself this question in 1965 and came up with the Zig-Zag Girl, a trick in which a woman is disassembled like a piece of Ikea furniture while the audience can see her face, hands and toes.

The vanishing elephant Houdini is better known for his escapology, but in 1918 in New York's Hippodrome theatre, he made a 10,000lb elephant named Jennie disappear. It caused a worldwide sensation.

Street levitation David Blaine might now be on a sponsored fast for legendary status, but he shot to fame by simply floating in the streets.

Levitation across the Grand Canyon In 1984, a decade before David Blaine rose a few inches off the pavement, that grandstanding disco magician David Copperfield drifted over the Grand Canyon in his billowing costume, aided only by the breeze.

Russian roulette Two weeks ago, Derren Brown played a game of Russian Roulette on live TV and lived to tell the tale. The moral majority were outraged. It was the perfect, attention-grabbing illusion until the police confirmed two days later the bullet was a fake. Talk about backfiring.

The lovely Debbie McGee marries Paul Daniels "What first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?" The illusion is shattered.